Boxing
Leigh Wood: Josh Warrington’s resentment battle ‘could be my last’
Published
3 months agoon
Leigh Wood says he could have ended his career happily if he had used the style of rival Josh Warrington on Saturday.
Wood (28-4, 17 KO), 37, will face another former featherweight world champion Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KO) in a rematch at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham following Warrington’s Round 7 stoppage in October 2023.
Warrington believes their first fight was stopped prematurely, while Wood is upset by Warrington’s criticism of his Round 9 defeat to Anthony Cacace last May.
As well as silencing Warrington in their non-junior lightweight title fight, Wood is desperate to improve after a painful night against Cacace and possibly end his career with a large win in front of his hometown fans.
“I’m winning this fight and that doesn’t mean I’m underestimating him, but no matter which way he wants to fight, I’ll have an answer to it and the fight won’t last long,” Wood told ESPN.
“I’m not looking back on this fight, but it could be my last one. After the fight, I’ll look at the landscape. I’m not really thinking about what might be next because right now I’m focused on the prize.”
“We don’t like each other, that’s sincere. Whichever way he wants to do it, whether he hits right at me or tries to box me, I’m prepared for it. He can change his timing, but he can’t change his style, and his style suits me. It’s fine with me.”
Wood’s coach Ben Davison threw in the towel when Northern Ireland player Cacace started firing unanswered shots in Round 9 to seal a disgusting defeat for Wood.
Wood, who reigned twice as the WBA featherweight world champion from 2022 to 2023, claims he is in better condition than before the Cacace fight, which comes after a 19-month layoff.
Warrington, a two-time IBF featherweight world champion (2018-2021, 2022), has lost three of his last four fights and even briefly retired in September 2024 after a loss to Cacace.
“I had some good and bad nights at the Nottingham Arena and the last fight wasn’t to my taste stylistically,” Wood told ESPN.
“But this fight is really in my favor and I will look good. Before the Cacace fight, I had a huge break, I had a grave illness that I had for nine months and I was gaining weight. I have always faced challenges, but considering all this, maybe it was a step too far.
“I’ve already dealt with the illness and I’ve had a great camp. I’ve sparred really well and I’m usually not the best at sparring. I can’t wait to get there and do a better job this time. I have to win this fight. He discredited me in some of the things he said, I’ll do a better job.”
The lessons of Brendan Ingle are fresh in Leigh Wood’s mind
Wood is aiming to repeat the level he achieved in victories over Can Xu, Michael Conlan, Mauricio Lara and Warrington. Wood’s career is slowly taking off after turning professional at a leisure center four miles from Nottingham city center where he fights on Saturday.
As his career comes to an end, Wood appreciates the influence of trainer Brendan Ingle on his boxing journey. Wood trained at a Sheffield gym with Ingle, who recently starred in the film “Giant,” about his relationship with Naseem Hamed, the featherweight champion from 1995 to 2000.
“I’ve changed a lot since my debut and I’ve been through a lot,” Wood told ESPN.
“But Brendan Ingle told me early on that you have to gain your experience, I’ve been through it, I’ve had ups and downs and I’ve bounced back from setbacks.
“I was with Brendan for about 10 years, he taught me a lot of things and made me believe in myself, and outside of boxing he taught me a lot of life lessons.
“While I was there, there were some really good people coming through the gym like Johnny Neslon, Kell Brook, Kid Galahad and Junior Witter. It was an incredible place to learn and learn the craft at that time, and Brendan gave me some unusual training exercises. Those were good lessons.”
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Boxing
Zuffa Boxing Dublin card confirmed for August 8 at 3Arena
Published
27 minutes agoon
June 5, 2026
Zuffa Boxing has announced that its first event in Ireland, branded Zuffa Boxing 10, will take place on Saturday, August 8 at the 3Arena in Dublin. Organizers of the promotion, headed by Dana White, said details about the main event, joint performance and ticket sales will be announced soon.
DUBLIN, ARE YOU READY?? 🇮🇪 #ZuffaBoxing10 is coming to you LIVE from @3ArenaDublin! | August 8
— Zuffa Boxing (@zuffa_boxing) Look at X
According to the promotion, the card will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland and streamed on Paramount+ in the US and Canada. Its broadcasts in the UK and Ireland are covered by a long-term contract with Sky Sports announced in March.
The expected headliner of the Cork middleweight gala will be Callum Walsh (16-0, 11 KO). according to 42 and Irish boxing, although Zuffa has not confirmed this card. Walsh won Zuffa Boxing’s debut event on January 23 in Las Vegas with a unanimous decision over Carlos Ocampo and has not fought since. The Cobh native, trained by Freddie Roach, fought mainly in the United States, but once boxed in Dublin, headlining the 3Arena gala after his victory over Przemysław Runowski.
The 42 reports that Monaghan’s Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KO) is set to be the main support for an IBF middleweight world title fight against Italian Etinosa Oliha (22-0, 10 KO). Both pairs are expected to fight for the vacant belt that became available after Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped of his belt following a failed anti-doping test. McKenna is third in the IBF rankings and Oliha is second.
Dublin will be Zuffa Boxing’s second card outside the United States. The first event, Zuffa Boxing 07, will take place this Saturday at the Bournemouth International Center in England, where former world cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith will face Ryan Rozicki in a 10-round cruiserweight main event.
The August 8 date means the Dublin gala will take place a week after Queensberry Promotions’ show at the same venue, headlined by Pierce O’Leary against Mark Chamberlain, with Tyson Fury scheduled to appear.
Boxing
Frank Warren says Tyson Fury will do what Daniel Dubois did to Joshua
Published
2 hours agoon
June 5, 2026
Frank Warren believes Tyson Fury will not only beat Anthony Joshua when the long-awaited heavyweight clash finally happens, but also stop him.
The All-British clash is scheduled for November, after a delay from its earlier summer date. Warren confirmed that Fury signed a contract for the fight in January, and both men are expected to undergo interim fights before the fight becomes official.
When asked how he sees the fight developing, Warren made it clear he expected Fury to win and pointed to Joshua’s knockout loss to Daniel Dubois as a major factor.
“I think Tyson will win,” Warren told Secondsout, predicting a Tyson Fury knockout over Joshua.
“I think Tyson will stop him.
“Did you see him fight Daniel Dubois? That gives me that confidence. I was sure Daniel Dubois would do it and he did it, and I’m sure Tyson will do the same in brief order, no matter what catches him.”
Earlier in the interview, Warren also suggested that Joshua was still feeling the effects of the Dubois defeat.
“He has the specter and cloud of what happened when he fought Daniel Dubois hanging over him. So, you know, he’s vulnerable if he gets caught now,” Warren said.
Joshua is scheduled to return on July 25 against Kristian Pregna, while Fury is scheduled to fight his own warm-up fight before November. Warren said the location for the proposed blockbuster has yet to be determined, though he confirmed the fight remains signed and will likely take place later this year, provided both heavyweights win their fights.

Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most crucial fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.
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Last update: 2026/06/04 at 23:14
Boxing
World champion will be stripped of his title if he refuses to fight David Benavidez next: ‘That’s it’
Published
4 hours agoon
June 4, 2026
David Benavidez won the WBA and WBO cruiserweight world titles with his last fight, and the “Mexican Monster” may add to his collection in the future after one of the world champions was ordered to fight him under the threat of being stripped of his belt.
Last month I moved up from light heavyweight and dethroned Gilberto Ramirez in sensational styleBenavidez now holds the WBA (regular) and WBC featherlight heavyweight world titles, as well as his recently won unified cruiserweight crown.
As a result, the 29-year-old must decide whether he should return to the featherlight heavyweight scene or stay in the cruiserweight division, where he put in arguably the best performance of his career last time out after tuning out his fight with Jai Opetaia.
However, Benavidez was also named the WBC cruiserweight mandatory challenger and was ordered to fight WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian, another who has been linked to a fight with Opetaia.
If Mikaelian refuses to defend the title against Benavidez, the WBC president announced in an interview for the WBC magazine that he would strip the Armenian of the belt. Boxing Scene.
“The WBC order is Mikaelian against Benavidez. That’s all. If he fights again, he will waive his obligations to the WBC.”
“[There is no deadline] at this time. I will be talking to different managers. This is the highest priority. I look forward to making sure that happens.”
If Mikaeilian decides to continue the fight with Opetaia and thus lose the world title, it can be expected that Polish-born interim champion Michał Cieślak will benefit. Either he will be elevated to full world champion and ordered to make his first defense against Benavidez, or he will be included in a vacant belt fight against the three-division world champion.
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